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***I am not a medical professional, and the information below is based on my own lengthy experience with withdrawals. I have no idea if it will work for everyone, but it worked for me. Also, every medication listed I either have a prescription for or it is an OTC medication.***

Let me first give you some background regarding my situation before I tell you how baclofen has been my savior. I've been dependent on opiates for 2+ years due to several injuries to L-4, L-5, and S-1. When I wake up in the morning (with opiates or without), I cannot walk until I stretch for 30 or so minutes. Then, I walk like a scarecrow until the meds kick in and I can function normally. At this point, I am on 40 mg of oxycodone IR per day, broken up over 4 times daily. This barely takes the edge off the pain, but my doctor is resistant to raising my dose, even though my psychiatrist has urged her to increase it based on how much the pain affects my mental health. As a result, I take more than is prescribed to keep my pain at a manageable level, resulting in running out of meds 10-13 days before my next dosage (yes, I know the ridiculousness of that mindset - I am an intelligent woman but the pain gets the best of me most of the time). These withdrawal periods have been absolute HELL in the past. I researched and researched on the 'net, and tried different variations of the "recipes" I found (btw, the Thomas Recipe? Total crap IMHO. Clonidine dropped my blood pressure so low I was practically catatonic). Recently, I discovered a combination that allowed me to get through the withdrawal period with ZERO effects. ZERO.

I am freely sharing my recipe, however I have to stress that it may not work for anyone. I am on a relatively low dose of opiates, and my withdrawal re-occurs pretty much every month so my body may be used to this process. I am posting this info because I know how horrible the withdrawal period can be, and if it helps one person then I feel justified. The only thing I ask is that you legally obtain the ingredients. I know many of you can find these things on the street, but it was absurdly easy to gain access to baclofen as it is not a controlled substance and it's a very mild muscle relaxer. The Klonopin may be harder, but if you are addicted to opiates, chances are you likely have some form of anxiety issue. See either your primary physician or a psychiatrist.

Please note that some of the ingredients are well beyond their recommended dose and may seem as though they would cause discomfort at such doses. In my case, they did not.

My recipe (cut your day into thirds to determine your times):Morning:
3 10 mg of Baclofen
1 Tagamet or Prilosec - or whatever long-acting acid reducer that works for you
1 1 mg Klonopin*
3 Immodium AD tabs** (6 mg loperimide) buy the generic since you will be using so much
Anti-depressant (such as Lexapro, which is what I take) if you can gain access

Afternoon:
2 10 mg of Baclofen
1 1 mg Klonopin*

Evening (about an hour or so before bed, so the meds have a chance to kick in before you lie down):
3 10 mg of Baclofen
1 acid reducer
2 1 mg Klonopin*
3 Immodium AD tabs** (6 mg loperimide)

Take your morning dose immediately after waking. The first few days, this recipe will likely make you extremely tired. I slept most of the first two days. Since my family doesn't know of my problem, I told them I had a flu and the sleep certainly proved it since I'm normally fairly busy. By day three, you should be waking up a bit and feeling normal. I never once felt cravings, aches, chills, or my most dreaded symptom of all - restless legs. You should be able to sleep comfortably at night, and I completely avoided the body-drenching sweats. In fact, I'm nicely regulated; something I have a problem with ON the opiates - I'm always hot. Now, here's the catch....I don't know how to get off this recipe. I continue it until the time comes for my oxy script to renew and then just quit cold turkey (except the klonopin and anti-depressant since those are regular meds for me). I tried cutting back (titrating) last month, and ended up with the worst restless legs EVER that lasted for over a week. Since that is the WORST symptom for me, it was hell. So, it's up to those of you who are using this recipe to make withdrawal more tolerable to figure out how to taper this down. I would recommend the baclofen first, then the immodium, then the benzo. One warning about baclofen - the longer you stay on it, the more chance you could experience bladder control issues. Baclofen relaxes the smooth muscles, which is what the bladder is comprised of. Trust me, I know first hand! Good luck, and my hope is that if you are using opiates recreationally, you will heed my warning - the longer you use, the harder it is to get off and the more you need to just feel normal. It WILL kill you if you don't kick it. The really sucky thing is, if you are injured and need opiates for pain, you will need herculean doses because you've set your tolerance threshold so high. Get off then NOW.

*You can choose any tranquilizer you can get access of, but Klonopin has a very long half-life (+/- 30-40 HOURS), ensuring that the drug is always in your system, so you won't find discomfort through the night). I already take it for anxiety, so use your own judgement in trying to gain LEGAL doses of these meds if you can. Also, Klonopin (and all other forms of benzodiazepine) is highly addictive, so please take it with caution.

**There has been some negative feedback regarding high doses of Immodium (loperimide). I intentionally kept the dose fairly low (most posts recommended 10 mg or higher!) in order to try to avoid too much constipation. Honestly, I didn't experience any worse constipation than when I was taking opiates. Loperimide is supposedly an opiate, but because it doesn't cross the blood brain barrier (ie get you high), it's not controlled like most opiates. It does, however, affect the opiate receptors in the GI tract, which means your body is receiving some form of opiate. I'm far from a professional, but it's my opinion that is why most of the withdrawal symptoms (shakes, runny nose, restless legs, etc.) are eliminated.

One last thing - a lot of people suggest using medications that includediphenhydramine (Benadryl, Tylenol PM, etc.) as a substitute for benzos. Diphenhydramine exacerbates restless legs, so I would recommend against using it. You can either admit to your doctor that you are withdrawing from opiates and request a small dose of benzo to get through, or let them know that you are experiencing severe anxiety (which you will be in withdrawal - we all know that desperate, anxious feeling when you know the symptoms are coming) to see if they will prescribe for you. Benzos are an important ingredient in any withdrawal recipe as there is a great amount of mental anguish as the drug leaves our system. Just please - remember they are as addictive as opiates, and should only be used for a short time in regulated amounts.